Page 93 of Somno Slave

My lungs refuse a full breath.

Because itdid.

And if I go to sleep tonight...

“No,” I gasp, already reaching for my phone.

Olivia.The name steadies something in me for a second. Something familiar. I open the chat.

Are you up?

I stare at the message, then send it.

The minutes tick by without an answer.

I stare at the screen, thumb hovering, then press call before I can think better of it. It rings three times before jumping straight to voicemail.

A burst of noise spills through the speaker—music, voices, something clattering in the background—before her voice cuts in, bright and careless.

“Hey, it’s Liv. I’m probably at The Crown Inn getting smashed—” Laughter breaks over her words, not just hers, other people too, loud and messy and alive. “—leave a message and I’ll probs get back to you.”

The line clicks.

Silence.

It feels wrong against my ear.

I start typing again anyway.

Can I tell you something weird?

I stop, reading the message back slowly. I delete it, jaw tightening slightly. My thumbs hover uselessly over the screen.

What would I even say?

That I dreamt of something then it happened.

The thought presses in too hard. My cheeks burn, and before I can humiliate myself any further, I lock my phone.

The silence fills the space immediately. I can’t sit in it.

I move back into the living room and switch the speaker on, turning the volume up before the first track even settles. Sound floods the room.

I turn it higher.

The bass settles into something physical, vibrating through my chest, something I can feel instead of think.

That’s better.

I pace once across the room, then again, letting the movement burn through the restless energy under my skin. The music gives me something to anchor to.

I keep moving.

Back and forth across the room, the same path over and over, my body running on something tighter than energy. My thoughts don’t settle. They circle.

Turn the sound off tomorrow.

It’s heavier this time.